Directors & Management

Trevor Benson - Executive Chairman

Trevor has over 30 years’ experience within the resource and finance sectors. Having worked for resource companies, investment banks and finance houses, Mr Benson has completed numerous mergers and acquisitions, and capital market transactions, across a range of natural resources and related industries.
Trevor has held board and management positions within many ASX listed resource companies, and most recently as CEO, Chairman and Advisor to several resource companies across exploration, development and downstream operations.

Trevor’s focus in Investment Banking was within SE Asia and China specialising in mergers and acquisitions, and equity capital market transactions, and advising Australian and International companies, including being exclusive advisor to Chinese State-Owned Enterprises (SOE’s), and Hong Kong listed resource companies.

Mr Benson has cross-border experience which includes Africa, UK, Europe, SE Asia, Hong Kong, US and China, and has advised and listed numerous ASX listed companies.
Trevor holds a Bachelor of Science from UWA.

Chris Dai - Executive Director

Chris has over 15 years’ experience in the mining industry, specializing in investment, financing, and operational management of gold projects. Mr Dai has served as a core investment and financing lead at multiple gold producers with market capitalisations exceeding AUD $10 billion, with deep involvement in mine-site operations and strategic decision-making. 

Chris has spearheaded and participated in dozens of cross-border investment projects across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, primarily in gold while also venturing into sectors including semiconductors, with total deal value in the billions of AUD. 

He possesses comprehensive expertise in capital markets, M&A, resource integration, and team leadership. Mr Dai currently serves as Director and General Manager of Shanghai Huitong Energy Co., Ltd., a company listed in Shanghai Stock exchange.

Chris has an Advanced Master of Commerce (Applied Finance and Accounting) degree from University of Queensland.

Ms Candice Stevenson - Non-Executive Director

Ms Stevenson is a professional company director with significant experience in financial management in the mining sector and specifically junior exploration companies. She has held past senior financial accounting roles with Griffin Group, Atrum Limited (ASX:ATU), K2Fly (ASX:K2F) and the Australian Taxation Office.

She is a Director of Lithium Springs Limited (ASX: LS1 Reserved) and cardiovascular imaging innovator Navier Medical Ltd (ASX:NM1 Reserved).

Michael McKeown - Non-Executive Director

Mr McKeown is a Geologist / Mining Engineer with a wide range of expertise in mining geology, exploration geology and mining engineering since entering the industry in 1970. 

His experience includes Ore Reserve and Mineral Resource estimation and reporting, due diligence studies, mining and geological audits, project management, mine budgeting, mine scheduling, and underground and open-cut mine design. Mr McKeown has worked on gold, tin, tungsten, base metal, nickel, rare earth, uranium, magnetite, limestone and dolomite deposits. 

His special skills include the interpretation of structurally complex geology, Mineral Resource estimation, and the business analysis of existing and proposed mining operations. 

Mick holds a Master of Engineering Science from University of Ballarat, a Graduate Diploma of Mining from Ballarat University College, an Associate Diploma in Agricultural Business Management from Tasmanian College of Advanced Education, a Bachelor of Science (Geology and Geophysics) from the University of Melbourne and is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Stuart Hutchin - Non-Executive Director

Stuart has over 24 years of experience in the Australian and international mining industry. He has worked in a wide range of gold, base metal, rare earth, bauxite, iron ore, lithium and nickel laterite deposits. Mr Hutchin has experience ranging from grass roots exploration through to mine geology and resource estimation in both underground and surface mining operations. 

Stuart has also had extensive experience with project assessment, geological audits, project valuations (VALMIN) and due diligence studies on both exploration and mining projects. He is a proficient user of Surpac, Vulcan and Micromine software packages. He is also a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. 

Mr Hutchin is deemed suitable to act in the capacity as a Competent Person and Qualified Person for JORC 2012, and NI43-101 resource estimate sign off covering multiple commodities and deposit styles. 

Stuart’s areas of expertise include:

  • Experience in multiple commodities/minerals in exploration, pre- development and operational settings
  • Design and supervision of exploration programs
  • Open pit and underground production roles and management of site teams
  • JORC & NI43-101 Resource estimation including geostatistical analysis
  • Mine Reconciliation processes
  • Assay laboratory auditing and review
  • Due diligence reviews
  • Mentoring and training of geological staff
  • Independent Experts Reports & VALMIN valuations.

Stuart holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Geology, University of South Australia.

Mr Paul Fromson - CFO/Company Secretary

Mr Fromson, B.Com, CPA, AICD, is a finance professional who has more than 30 years industry experience, including over 23 years with ASX listed resource companies. He has held a variety of senior positions including Company Secretary, Chief Financial Officer and Director in exploration and mining companies.

Mr Fromson’s resources experience extends over a number of commodities and he has worked on multinational joint ventures such as the Boddington Gold Mine and Worsley Alumina Projects through to a significant gold producer and a variety of exploration companies on projects within Australia and overseas. Mr Fromson brings extensive experience in corporate matters, ASX listing rules and all forms of capital raising.

He is a Certified Practising Accountant and a Licensed Tax Agent. Mr. Fromson holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of Western Australia.

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